When Hooters opened its doors in The Villages last July, locals lined up early and kept the parking lot full for weeks. After months of serving wings with a smile and the classic orange shorts, the initial spectacle may have waned, but popularity hasn’t.  

What started as a much-welcomed sensation has become a regular routine for locals, retirees and travelers who know exactly what they want at lunch, dinner and especially happy hour.

The parking lot is still full by 11am each day and college game day has replaced NFL Sunday as the go-to for sports viewing. 

General Manager Samantha Abarbanel says the response since opening has been phenomenal.

“Everyone has welcomed us with open arms,” she says. “It’s exactly what I thought it would be in this amazing area with the friendliest people.” She says that while the Villages crowd pack them in from lunch through to happy hour, there is a great boost in the evening with local service industry employees.

“After 8 p.m. it’s a different crowd,” she adds. “We are open later on Friday and Saturday so the locals and industry folks come in from other restaurants to unwind.”

Founded in Clearwater, Florida in 1983 by six businessmen with no restaurant experience, Hooters started as what they called “a place we couldn’t get kicked out of.” 

The casual beach bar concept quickly took off, growing from a single Florida hangout to more than 425 restaurants across the globe. The formula was simple: cold beer, hot wings and friendly service wrapped in a now-iconic look that became part of 1990s pop culture. The company keeps growing and, according to Forbes, hopes to open another 57 stores in the near future.

Four decades later, the appeal endures, especially in The Villages, where nostalgia meets neighborhood comfort. The regulars arrive by car or golf cart, order their usual and greet familiar faces behind the bar. It’s an atmosphere that blends old-school charm with a new generation of energy.

Bartender Tabitha Loose has been there since day one. 

“It’s really cool meeting people who have been fans for decades,” she says. “Two original Hooters girls came in once and said they met working there and they’re still best friends.”

For Villagers Chad Smith and Lane Barker, the nostalgia is personal. 

“We used to go to Hooters back in the 90s,” Chad says. “You walk in here and it feels the same.” 

Lane says that the consistency and ease of a known brand is what bring him in.

“Having a Hooters just a golf cart ride away is perfect,” he says. “Eating wings and drinking a cold beer is a great way to end eighteen holes.”

Hooters in The Villages is located at 700 Kristine Wy., in Lake Deaton Plaza.

Photos: Gina Horan